By contrast Chasidic rebbes did not sit with their wives in public. Nor did their Chasidim. They considered it immodest. In some cases they would not even walk in the street together. In Ger for example the husband will always walk well in front of his wife in the street. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I observed that in Bnei Brak where just about everyone takes a walk after the Friday night meal. That was back in the 70s on my first trip to Israel.
Now we seem to have all moved in the direction of the Chasidim. It is their standard that is being emulated. That’s why one will never see a mixed seating wedding anyone in Charedi circles any more. Even among moderate Charedim. And the trend continues in other areas as well. For example public venues that have religious events now have separate entrances for men and women; longer wigs are now considered by some to be immodest; and now pictures of women are thought to be immodest no matter how they are dressed.
This kind of mindset used to be the sole purview of Chasdim. It was for example their periodicals that did not publish pictures of women. But now, even mainstream non Chasidic Charedi periodicals have barred images of women from their pages. And then there is this latest blurring of faces by Agudah. I can’t imagine for example Rav Yaakov Kamentesky approving of something like that if he were alive today. But someone in Agudah today thought it was a good idea. The right thing to do.
I recall having a conversation with a rabbinic leader about an event they were having. I asked him about something that I think should have been included. His honest response was that he personally had no problem with it. But there were certain members of Agudah that did have a problem with it. And he did not want to alienate them.
I think this is exactly the kind of thinking going on right now. Agudah does not want to alienate those who consider it immodest to show a woman’s face.
But at what price? Must they chase down every Chumra they find just to please their most right wing constituency? What about those on their left? I don’t mean only the Modern Orthodox of even the right. But even their own moderate Charedim! They must be put off by something like this. Does Agudah not want to please those constituents? Do they take them for granted? Do they think that since Agudah is doing it, it will be accepted as the new norm? Should it be the new norm? Is this what they really want?
Why can’t they instead think like another Gadol of the past, the Lubavitcher Rebbe. He actually made an issue of it and to his credit took a public stand by rejecting the notion of not publishing pictures of women as immodest. He considered it insulting in the extreme to do so. I agree. I am glad to see that his Chasidim continue to publish pictures of women whenever appropriate.
{Originally posted to author’s website, Emes Ve-Emunah}
I have said this in the past. We should not be handing down to our children a Judaism that is inauthentic. We should not be adding Chumros unnecessarily – just to please the right. We ought to instead have common sense and treat women with the dignity they deserve, same as men. This does not mean we abandon modesty in the way we dress. Of course we shouldn’t. But it does mean we reject the kind of extremism that is indicated by blurring faces of women in pictures. If there are Chasidim that don’t like it, they don’t have to look at it.